Regional Coordinator for
churches in CO, MT, ND, NE, SD:
Janelle Ortman
Shalom Readers Club
44529 - 280th St.
Marion SD 57043
ojortmangwtc.net
Regional Coordinator for
churches in IA, IL, MN, WI:
Ellen K. Miller
Shalom Readers Club
2131 Grand Blvd.
Waterloo, IA 50701
ellenkmillergmail.com
Check out books from:
Shalom Readers Club
Central Plains Mennonite Conference
Box 101, Freeman, SD 57029
Phone: (605) 925-4463
officecentralplainsmc.org
Shalom Readers Club
Teaching Peace, Forgiveness and Justice through Reading
Adult leaders help children aged 4 through 14 select and read books from
a list specially chosen to teach core Christian values from an
Anabaptist understanding. If children read seven books and give reports
on two of them, they may earn a gift book of their choice from the
list.
The Bible teaches us much about peace, love and justice. We believe
that Christ mandated a new perspective and practice in response to these
issues. The Hebrew word for this is “Shalom”. We hope that by reading
these books you will discover new ways of looking at the world as you
learn about people in other lands and other times.
We desire that youth will become aware of the religious, social, and
cultural issues that people face in our age that are, in fact, ageless.
By reading these books, questions will be raised about international
events, world history, and God’s vision that will promote a discussion
about faith in Jesus and what it means to be a disciple of the risen
Christ in today’s world. The selection of these books does not
necessarily imply an endorsement of the practices and beliefs of the
characters in the book. However, readers are presented with
opportunities for discussion about issues of race, poverty, class
distinctions, conflict, and cultural differences that divide us. We
believe that Jesus Christ calls us to a new way of relating to each
other--the way of Shalom.
As parents, pastors, teachers, and other caring adults talk with the
youth as they read, inter-generational conversations will open doors of
understanding. Children who cannot yet read will need to have an adult
read the books to them. These stories may also be reinforced through
drama in classrooms, or in children’s stories in worship services. This
can be a community effort in the church whereby all benefit.
Children who have already been a Shalom Club Reader in past years should read new books this year.
Acknowledgements
are given to “The Christian Peace Elf” project and the book, The Most
Wanted Peace Books, written by and copyrighted by David Hiebert, 1988.
The Shalom Reader’s Club was designed after the model which David
Hiebert prepared especially for the Allegheny Mennonite Conference.
Thank you to Joan Friesen and Cathy Wismer Epp, both of Henderson, NE,
for researching peace and justice books and choosing those to include in
the list.
The Shalom Readers Club program is sponsored by the Outreach and Service
Committee of the Central Plains Mennonite Conference of Mennonite
Church, USA.
